Vehicle running-gear



(No Modem N. L. HOLMES.

` LVEHICLE RUNNING GEAR.

Patented Sept. 15, 1885-.

lIO

UNITEDA STATES.

PATENT Genion..

NATHAN L. HOLMES, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN.

VEHICLE RUNNING-GEAR.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,116, dated september 1s, 1885.

Application filed November 24, 1884. (Xo model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN L. HOLMES, of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Gear; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact y description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of' this specifica. tion. A

. The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction in means for connecting the rear ends of the front axle-hounds with the sway-bar of a wagon; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described ,and pointed out in"the claims.

The connecting device herein shown as em bodying my invention consists, essentially, of a flanged metal casting or coupling-piece,com prising a horizontal plate having vertical side walls or anges, adapted to receive between them the adjacent ends of the wooden hounds and sway-bar, which latter are provided in their side faces, near their ends, with vertical notches, which are engaged by studs or projeetions upon the casting. The parts above mentioned are usually connected with each other by bolts passing through the casting and the ends of the hounds and sway-bar, and the interlocking notches and studs mentioned are for the purpose of holding together and giving additional strength to the parts, as will hereinafter appear.

The invention will bemore fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the hounds and sway-bar of a wagon,with a curved connectingplate uniting the same, constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the casting uniting the hounds and sway-bar, the metal straps shown in Fig. l as covering the parts being removed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same with parts broken away to more fully illustrate the. construction thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the connecting-plate alone,taken upon line x x of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectionalview Showing a modified form of the connectingplate.

As illustrated in the drawings, A A are the axle-hounds, B is the sway-bar, and() is a in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, of curved form, and, as

shown in Fig. 5, composed of two straight parts united at an angle. In both cases the plates are provided with vertical studs erprojections c, adapted to engage corresponding notches, a and b, in the sides of the hounds and of the sway-bar near theirends. K i

When the plate C is of curved form, the adjacent ends of the hounds and, sway-bar are made straight upon their inner and adjacent edges, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2,and.the studs c are arranged upon a line tangent to the curve of the inner anges at their ends,

and in position to properly engage the notches a and b, formed upon the inner vertical faces of the hounds and sway-bar, as before de! scribed. sway-bar adjacent to their ends are prefer` ably curved to fit the outer flange, Cz, of the casting C, so as to givea firm bearing thereon,

` as shown in the drawings. i

As preferably constructed, the studs c are i cast upon and extend upwardly from the lower horizontal part of the casting C,'and

the two studs engaging the hounds and sway-` dicated at c, the flange c in this construction obviously operating as a brace between the,V

The outer sides ofthe hounds and' y studs c to resist any transverse strain ten'dl IOC cerned, the particular construction herein shown, in which the connecting-rib c between the studs is used, is obviously not essential, and instead of this construction the studs may be made sufficiently. strong to resist the lateral pressure thereon, or may be united with the adjacent inner flange of the casting by short ltransverse flanges, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The construction first described is preferred, however, for the reasons above stated.

The flanged casting C is usually connected with the ends of the hounds and sway-bar in position with its open side upward, and the metal strap D, which is usually bolted upon the upper surface of thesway-bar to prevent the latter from being worn by contact with the reach, is extended in a curved form over the joint between the ends of the sway-bar parts and to cover the spaces between the llanges C C2 of the casting C, so as to give a smooth upper surface to the parts at this point. Instead of this construction the space within the casting between the ends of the sway-bar and hounds may obviously be filled by blocks of wood, or the casting may be covered by a top plate separate from the strap D and fitted to the upper edges of the flanges C G2. It is obvious that the same improved result may also be obtained by using two separate flanged castings placed in contact with the ends of the hounds and sway-bar at opposite sides thereof,with the same advantageous results hereinbefore set forth.

One advantage derived from the construction herein shown, which may be mentioned, over that heretofore commonly used, in which the ends of the hounds and sway-bar are connected by a mortise and tenon, is that the ends of the sway-bar and the hounds will, when connected by a channeled casting, as above described, project to a less extent at the side of the wagon when the latter is cramped, and will therefore be less in the way at such time. The connecting device described also affords a rigid and secure connection between the hounds and sway-bar, and one much less liable to become loosened by wear than one formed by mortising and tenon or other means of connection heretofore used in the construction of the parts nientioned.

In the form of the channeled casting C shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 the studs c and the flange c', entering therein, may be cast in one piece separate from the body of the casting, and

connected therewith by extensions upon the lower ends of the studs or short pins or studs upon the lower edge of Ythe flange entering suitably arranged apertures in the bottom part of thecasting, as illustrated in Fig. 5, which is a sectional view taken transversely of the coupling-piece through one of the studs. The form of the device in which the studs and the connecting-flange are cast in one piece with the casting C is, however, preferred, for the reason that the casting -is made much stronger by the permanent connection of the flange therewith.

Instead of making the flanges-G and C2 in one piece with the bottom or horizontal part of the casting C, one or both of said flanges may be made separate therefrom and of either cast or wrought iron. The sectional view, Fig. 5, illustrates a form of the device in which both flanges are made separate. As shown in said ligure, the lower or horizontal part of the casting is provided withupwardly-extending lips or anges c3, adaptzd to engage the lower edges of the side pieces or flanges, and an additional upper horizontal plate, C3, provided with similar downturned flanges, is used, the flanges upon the two horizontal plates obviously operating to hold the sides O and C? from yielding outwardly under any strains coming upon the hounds and sway-bar. When t-he construction last described is used, the strap D may be conveniently extended over the plate G3, as shown in Fig. 5, or it may extend to said plate C3 only, the construction shown in which the strap extends at its ends over the said plate being preferred as giving a stronger construction in the parts. Vhen the flanges G and C2 are made separate from the horizontal part of the casting, and while the upper plate, C,v is not used, or the ribs c3 dispensed with, the outer flange, G2, may be conveniently held from outward movement under any outward thrust upon its middle part, which may be caused by a strain upon the hounds or swaybar tending to carry the adjacent ends thereof outward, by a bolt extending horizontally through the middle part of the flanges, and through the flange c when the latter is present, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In a prior patent, No. 157,399, granted to me December l, 1884, an angle iron for connecting the adjacent ends of the side pieces of boxes is shown, which consists of two connected parallel parts or flanges adapted to embrace the end portions of the box-sides, and provided with vertical projections or ribs engaged with grooves in the wood of the sides. The connecting device herein illustrated differs from that shown in the patent above mentioned in having curved side walls and a horizontal plate or plates attached to and connecting the said side walls, said plates being provided with vertical studs located in position to engage notches in the adjacent straight sides of the wooden parts, whereby the ends of said wooden parts are held by the studs from lateral movement.

I claim as my inventionl.' The combination, with the hounds and sway-bar made straight upon their adjacent faces and provided with notches a and Z, of a coupling-piece, C, having a horizontal portion or plate, c, curved side walls, and provided with vertical studs c c, engaged with the IOO IIO

flanged casting, C, provided with projections c, and with a flange or rib, c', uniting the projections c, and having its end portions, c2, adapted to afford a bearing-surface for the inner faces of the hounds and sway-bar, substantially as described.

4L. The combination, with the hounds and sway-bar of a Wagon, and anged castings C C, uniting said hounds and sway-bar at their 2o ends, of a strap, D, secured to the sway-bar, and extending at its ends over and attached to the hounds, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 25 my invention I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

NATHAN L. HOLMES.

Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE POOLE, OLIVER E. PAGIN. 

